I think the main callback to later canon that I want right now is for Maria not-yet-Stark to show up. :D This is just so early, though -- there's no way we can get later characters like Nick Fury or Sharon, much as I would like to see them. (But maybe if they get more seasons, we can have more of that kind of thing!)

I've asked this over on tipper's LJ, but I thought I'd ask you as well. Could I watch this show without having read/watched anything recent regarding this particular Marvel universe? (That is, I watched the Hulk movie/TV show from the 80's, but that's about it!) How much does it rely on the viewer being part of this 'verse? Now that I have two people on my f-list squeeing over it, I'm intrigued!

I think this one stands alone better than almost anything else in the franchise does. There's a montage at the beginning that catches you up on the Peggy parts of the Captain America movie, but all the major characters besides her are new for the show. And the overall season plot seems to be self-contained as well. If you just approach it as a 1940s spy show in a universe that also has some magic/high-tech-science stuff, I think you'll do just fine.